"The scene is all right," snapped Miss Slarge; "but it would be better if Mr. Carson were not here. Ugh! I can't bear the sight of him."
"Why not? He seems to be a pleasant young man."
"No backbone, Mr. Brock. If you dropped him into the mud he would stay there. Mrs. Purcell said that he had a strong will and a stubborn nature; but I can see neither myself."
"It is, of course, possible your sister may have been mistaken."
"Perhaps so; but in every other respect her description of him has been particularly accurate, even to the bracelet he wears. Bangle--bracelet--" said Miss Slarge, with contempt; "the idea of a man decking himself out like a woman!"
"Still, he is agreeable enough, Miss Slarge; and you must remember that to me he is always the son of my dear old friend. In memory of his father, he intends to present my church with a new altar-cloth."
"Marked 'I.H.S.,' I suppose, Mr. Brock?"
"Well, yes; it is customary to mark them with the sacred letters."
"What do they stand for?"
"'Iesu hominum salvator.'"